Why offer a V6 engine in the 2006.5 Kia Optima if it makes just 24 more horsepower and 19 more lb.-ft. of torque than the four-cylinder model?
Kia is focusing on the four-cylinder models, and plans to stock dealerships in an 80/20 blend of fours and V6s. Ian Beavis, Kia’s VP of marketing, says that with fuel prices going the way they are and renewed customer interest in fuel economy, this is the right strategy. Yet, noted Kia’s COO Len Hunt, some customers want a V6 engine no matter what. He says that by offering the old Optima’s improved 2.7-liter V6 as an option, the new Optima provides a good value equation for a V6-powered sedan. When we asked Alex Fedorak, Kia’s director of public relations, why the new Optima didn’t get the powerful new 3.3-liter V6 engine that parent company Hyundai supplies in the Sonata midsize sedan, he explained that contrary to popular belief, the Sonata and the new Optima are on separate platforms, so the corporate 3.3-liter V6 wasn’t a part of the plan.
